Question 193·Easy·Transitions
Many species of nocturnal pollinators, such as moths, are attracted to bright artificial lights. These lights draw the insects away from flowering plants that rely on them for pollination. _____ the plants receive fewer visits, and their seed production declines.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
For transition questions, always read at least one sentence before and after the blank and decide the relationship before looking closely at the answer choices: is it cause-and-effect, contrast, example, or addition? Once you’ve identified the relationship in simple words (like “this is the result” or “this is the opposite”), eliminate any transition whose usual meaning doesn’t match that relationship. Finally, plug the remaining option into the sentence to check that the paragraph reads smoothly and logically.
Hints
Look closely at the second and third sentences
Read the second sentence (“These lights draw the insects away…”) and the third sentence together, ignoring the blank. How does the idea about plants and seed production relate to insects being drawn away?
Decide the type of connection
Ask yourself: Is the third sentence giving an opposite idea, an additional detail, an example, or a result of what happens in the second sentence?
Match each choice to a relationship type
Think about what kind of link each option usually shows (opposition, example, or outcome). Which one best fits the relationship you identified between insects being drawn away and plants producing fewer seeds?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the paragraph is saying
First, restate the ideas in your own words:
- Many nocturnal pollinators are attracted to bright artificial lights.
- Because of that, the lights pull these insects away from the flowering plants that need them.
- The blank comes before: “the plants receive fewer visits, and their seed production declines.”
Ask: Is this last sentence something opposite, extra, an example, or a result of the previous sentence?
Identify the logical relationship
Look at the connection between the second and third sentences:
- Second sentence: insects are drawn away from the plants.
- Third sentence: the plants get fewer visits and make fewer seeds.
These two ideas go in the same direction: if insects are taken away, it leads to fewer visits and lower seed production. That is a cause-and-effect (result) relationship, not a contrast or an example.
Classify each transition option by type
Now think about what type of relationship each choice usually signals:
- “In contrast,” usually shows an opposite or differing idea.
- “Still,” often means “nevertheless” or “even so,” signaling something unexpected compared with what came before.
- “As a consequence,” signals a result or effect of what was just described.
- “For example,” introduces a specific example of a more general statement.
Only one of these types matches the cause-and-effect relationship you identified between the insects being drawn away and the plants producing fewer seeds.
Choose the transition that matches cause and effect
Since the third sentence describes the result of the insects being drawn away from the plants, you need a transition that clearly shows effect/result.
The only option that expresses this cause-and-effect relationship is “As a consequence,”, so that is the correct answer.